


Lord of Storm's End

by GoSora



Series: Gendrya One shot AU style [4]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, not to slow slowburn, originally a solo from Twitter RP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-06-25 07:59:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19741486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoSora/pseuds/GoSora
Summary: This was taken directly from my Twitter RP account and just modified slightly.But premise is this:Gendry was legitimized before the battle of Winterfell, becoming a lord and getting the Stormlands. He told Arya about it after the battle and she reacted by saying the following: “Isn't there something you need to ask me then?” and that makes him simply say the words “Marry me,” and she agrees. They are married before the feast. Her name is changed to Arya Stark Baratheon, because they both know just how important her Stark roots are for her.Arya does her thing in King's Landing, while Gendry is waiting outside for her, knowing he need to let her do this. She doesn't travel west, but east, back to Braavos to learn more, while he does his thing in the Stormlands.Shireen survived, her mother handed her to Davos and she was there for the Battle of Bastards. She meet Gendry at Winterfell and later marries Bran and is now queen of the six kingdoms, working hard to help her nation heal.This is the tale of the year of separation, told through Gendry's eyes.That and it is the introduction to my OC, Freya. She is another bastard born in the Riverlands to Robert Baratheon and a kitchen maid.





	1. Prologue: Not goodbye by see you later.

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER:  
> I have tried to spell all places and names as correctly as I could, going off the shows wikia the most, but if I have misspelled something, somewhere then I am sorry. I did research this and did have the wikia pages open as I wrote. That and fact checked along the way. I have made two house names up and have used a dead house name for the houses I was going to throw under the bus, to offend the least amount of people so yeah.

He had seen this one coming. He knew she needed to leave and he accepted it, accepted that fact that taking time apart would give them both some closure and some perspective.

He had been there that day on the harbour and had held her one last time.

A year, that was the deal. She would go to Braavos and he would go to Stormlands. She had unfinished business with the faceless men and he had become a Lord out of the blue, so he had to deal with that and decide what he wanted to do with that.

But all those reasons didn't make it any easier to let her get on the ship. He loved her and he wanted to just go with her, but he had his duties. He had hugged her and had tried to smile to her. 

Pretending that it was going to be okay, that he was going to be fine without her for an entire year.

His last words to her had been a reminder of what she had repeated to him over and over again:

“What do we say to the God of death?”

“Not today...” she had replied and he had taken her face in his hands. 

“I love you. I am going to miss you, but I will see you again, right here, in a year,” he had said and she had nodded. 

A simple kiss on her forehead and he had let her go. Had let his wife go. She needed this, he needed this, they needed this. But he was going to miss her. Every month, every week, every day, hour, minute and every last bloody second. 

He stayed there as she got on the ship and sailed out. Waiting till the ship was out of sight before he slowly turned around and walked back to his cousin. Leaving at first light the next morning.


	2. The Lord of Storm's End part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is the real start of the adventure. Gendry goes south and explains stuff, giving you all a look into the AU my writing partner and I have created on twitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER:  
> I have tried to spell all places and names as correctly as I could, going off the shows wikia the most, but if I have misspelled something, somewhere then I am sorry. I did research this and did have the wikia pages open as I wrote. That and fact checked along the way. I have made two house names up and have used a dead house name for the houses I was going to throw under the bus, to offend the least amount of people so yeah.

He had been going alone when he had left, knowing what he had to do. Davos had send a few men he trusted to Storm's End and there he would have to meet them and then plan a trip around to visit all the Lords. 

Riding along the Kings Road he made it down to Storm's End without to many stops and with no difficulties. He did notice the change in climate. The weather got warmer and the air was more moist. He had been travelling through Kingswood on the way and knew he might have to get used to this, even if it all seemed foreign and strange to him.

Arriving at the castle he went to the gates and started his name and an older looking woman came over. Introducing herself as Marya Seaworth, wife of Davos he smiled at her. He had heard a little about her from Davos and he was sure this was his doing. 

He was shown around and the first place that caught his attention was the forges. They looked fine and he made sure to take his time looking around there before he was quiet as he was shown the rest. He just looked around, unsure what to do exactly. 

He was a Lord by name, but he knew he was still just a lowborn in his heart. He might know how to read and write, but politics was new to him and to be honest he didn't look forward to that part of being a Lord. 

The last room they went into was the hall, where three boys and a woman his age was. She was obviously teaching the younger two to read and write while the eldest of the boys was writing a letter. Then both of the young boy's got up and ran to Marya as they entered. 

“And this is my boys. The eldest there is Devan and this is Stannis and Steffon,” she said and pointed to the boys and then the girl came walking over with Devan. There was something familiar about her face but he wasn't quite sure what.

“And this, this is Freya...” Marya's voice seemed to hint at the fact that there was more but they now all looked at him.

“My name is Gendry. Gendry Baratheon, legitimized Bastard son of king Robert Baratheon and husband of the hero of Winterfell, Arya Stark Baratheon,” he still had a hard time introducing himself to strangers, and he had forgotten the Lord of Storm's End part but he had said what was important to him. That he was a former Bastard and that he was married. That and her name. It still brought a smile to his face.

The young woman had observed him, but he had no idea why. And then she had stepped forward.

“As Marya Davos said I am Freya. I was born in the Riverlands to a kitchen maid twenty three years ago. My mother died when I was ten, but I got to stay there for a few more years, till a red haired woman arrived and bought me,” she said and paused and his mind went to Melisandre as soon as she had said that and then he looked at her again as she looked straight back. 

Dark of hair, that was a feature all the Stag's shared and she had that. She had dark hair but her eyes were dark brown, yet he knew. He knew who she was before she had told him.

“My mother always bragged about the day I was put in her. Bragged that king Robert Baratheon had fathered her one and only daugther. Bragged to me that I was her little Stag,” he nodded as she said this.

“So were you brought to Stannis?” he asked and she nodded.

“He wanted to burn me, but Davos had just arrived with a few ships and he managed to smuggle me out and sail me here. I have been with his family ever since,” she said and smiled at Marya who took her hand.

“She is your Bastard sister and is under your care now. Just like our queen Shireen was before she married our king,” Marya looked at him and he nodded. 

“But where is your wife?” the young Stannis asked and he felt a small wave of sadness hit him. He missed her and she hadn't even been gone a week. 

“Arya had unfinished business. You see, she is a strong young woman and she is a hero in her own right. I married her knowing that I would never be able to have her be happy unless she was also free. So she is travelling to Braavos as we speak, to meet the Faceless men. But we made a small deal before she left. That we would meet up on the docks a year later. That would give me time to figure out what to do with this and for her to do what she has to do;” he answered and tried to smile. He failed and he looked over when he felt a hand touch his. It was Freya. 

“Hey, that must be hard, but the fact that you let her go already makes you a great man in my book. I'm sure she is going to be fine. But faceless men? Are you sure they even exist?” she looked at him as she spoke and he nodded at her last question.

“The faceless men are real. I have seen Arya's bag of faces, so I should know,” it was true, he had seen her bag and somehow hadn't been surprised. He saw the shocked faces of the rest and just shrugged. 

“She had to get rid of Walder Frey somehow. He did kill her family. The story I was told was that she managed to kill two of his sons, then got to him and used his face to poison the rest of the male side of his family,” leaving out the pie part was probably wise since the two youngest boys were too young to hear that. Marya shook her head.

“That poor girl. I heard the stories, but since you know her why don't you tell us all what happened and tell us your story while you are at it?” she asked and he saw the boys eyes light up. He nodded at the table and they all sat down before he started by telling his part of the story. Where he was born, his few memories of his mother and his work. 

“Then I was sold to the Nights Watch and at the gathering point I saw this little kid. He or rather she was being picked on by two others. They had pushed her to the ground but she was fast and had this small sword, Braavosi styled and of high quality, pointed straight at them. I decided to step in as well and helped her, not knowing who she was until a while later. That little kid was Arya. She had just lost her father and her sister was held prisoner by the Lannister family. And the rest of her family was scattered from the wall to King's Landing within months. The gold cloaks came and well, they weren't looking for her, like she believed, they were looking for me. But she told me who she was after their first visit and since then I truly tried to keep her safe. We were taken prisoner by them the second time around and brought to Harrenhal. I nearly died, she nearly got raped. We escaped, ran, was caught again, I said stupid shit and was then sold the next day because Melisandre came along. I was tricked, but I was young so it was my own fault. Davos saved me and then I spend the next few years in King's landing,” continuing the story by mentioning Margaery Tyrell and how she had learned him a few things before her death he then went on to the last part of the story.

How he had meet John Snow after Davos had picked him up. How he had been across the wall and then had ended up at the forges of Winterfell.

“And that was where I saw Arya again. Last I saw her she had been a kid, but time had passed and well, she was a woman. To say that sparks was flying would be an understatement. I believe she spend more time bugging me than at the war meetings and I wasn't complaining.

I then knew what I had to do so I asked Daenerys, the dragon queen, to be legitimized. I found her and promised to give up my claim on the thrown for a chance to become a Lord and she gave me what I asked for and more. This place. With that secure the dead was getting so close that I didn't have time to tell anyone and then a few hours later I was surprised by Arya. She asked me a few questions that wasn't entirely proper for anyone to ask before she “attacked” me. And then we were both back to fighting the dead a few hours later. 

It was in this battle that we all nearly died. Many good men and women lost their life, but luckily the few people I cared about survived. Arya, Davos and our cousin Shireen. Shireen was in the crypt and managed to kill a few of the dead there, while Davos fought on the wall with Arya. I was out in the front line with Ser Jamie Lannister, Ser Brienne of Tarth, Tormund the Giant slayer, Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane, Ser Beric Dondarrion, Ser Jorah Mormont and many many more. Most of us ended up in the courtyard and I was standing back to back on a pile of bodies with Tormund when the battle finally ended. Arya had stabbed the Night King who had arrived and had woken all of our dead up, basically dooming all of us, even the people in the crypt, since the dead Stark's was all buried there. 

After the battle we all went to work cleaning up the mess and assessing the damages caused by all the dead people and the undead dragon. Yes, there was a dead flying, cold fire spewing dragon at Winterfell that night. And with all this going on I went to talk to Arya and I told her about being legitimized. She then asked me if there was something I wanted to ask her and well, we were betrothed. Less than a week later we were married because someone was pressuring me to marry Shireen. So Arya basically grabbed the Maester and me and five minutes later we were husband and wife. 

And then after we had burned the dead we went south and you should all know the rest. Shireen came with Bran who has told me that his proposal made her more happy than she has ever been. And she does indeed look more happy than I have ever seen her. The plan with Arya was formed before the wedding and she left the following evening while I left the following morning and now I am here. An unworthy Lord with his wife out sailing and learning,” he took a deep breath after telling that entire story and looked around at the three boys, their mother and his half sister. The younger boys had a million and one questions, while Marya and Freya both seemed content with the story and the eldest boy, Devan, simply nodded. 

He spend a while explaining and answering the questions before he turned to Marya and Freya. 

“But how do I do this? What do I need to do to be a good Lord?” he asked and Freya pulled out a plan.

“I have lived here for a while and traveled around a lot. I know, a young woman travelling alone, bad idea, but I can defend myself. My mother made sure of that and so did the inn keeper I worked for. But this. This is what we are doing. We are travelling around to all of the houses and greeting them all, introducing you to them and making sure you know who you are speaking for when you attend meetings in King's Landing,” she answered and showed him a long list of places, before she rolled out what was clearly a cheap map, but it had the homes and houses listed with a clear line drawn from one home to the next. 

He looked it over and nodded. It seemed like the logical way to handle things, but he was just not a people person and this. This he didn't look forward to. 

“Who will be travelling with me?” he asked and Devon looked up.

“My eldest, your sister and a small handful of trusted men appointed by me. But listen to Devon and Freya. They might be young, but they know the people here better than most. I will be staying here and keeping everything going till you return, so send me a raven if anything happens,” Marya said as she smiled at him. He nodded and then looked at the map again.

“I am the Lord of all of this... I guess I will just have to get used to it...” there was no way he wasn't going to mess this up, he knew that already. It just all depended on how much he was going to mess it up. 

“Hey, you are a Baratheon, you can do this,” Freya tried to cheer him up and he just shook his head.

“I am a blacksmith and a fighter. Nothing more and nothing less,” he was starting to really see why Arya hated being called a Lady. He had been a Lord for all of five minutes and he already had issues with it. But he had to try and make the most of it so he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“When do we leave?” he looked at his sister and future travel companion.

“Tomorrow or the day after depending on you,” she said and he let that sink in.

“Tomorrow it is then. How long do we stay in each place?” he had a few questions before they left to do Lord things, what ever that was. 

“Minimum one night, but that depends on what happens so anywhere between one day to a few weeks,” Freya looked at Marya who nodded at that statement. 

“It also depends on the weather. Some days the rain makes it nearly impossible to ride and the winds can be pretty bad, hence the name, Stormlands,” the older woman explained and all three of her boys nodded while they were doing their own thing. 

“But I think we should look a little at your family history and your bloodline. Freya has been studying accounts from all over Stormlands and knows her Baratheon history so why don't you two look at that while I make sure this place is running like it should?” Marya was already standing and Gendry nodded, that sounded like a great plan. 

Marya then gathered up her boys and left the two half siblings alone. 

“So you know about our father, but do you know about how the family started?” Freya asked and he shook his head. He had not really read up on his family history, he had been to busy staying alive and well, fighting. 

She sat up straight as she looked at him before she started.

“We are going back in time, way back to Aegon Targaryen, also known as the conquer. The then king of the Stormlands wanted to get help from the Valyrian lord at Dragonstone and he even offered his own daughter to Aegon. But he was already married and so he wanted the daughter Argella for his friend, and later Hand, Orys. But Orys was rumoured to be Aegon's Bastard brother and so the dragon lord got send back the messengers hands, and then Aegon started to do what he is known for. He conquered.

He send Orys Baratheon to the Stormlands where he faced off with Argilac. He was joined there by the Queen Rhaenys and together they would defeat the last Storm King.

The Lady Argella declared herself Queen, but her scared men betrayed her and delivered her to Orys naked, chained and gagged. She probably expected to be mistreated but he unchained her and clothed her in hos cloak, giving her a cup of wine. He then presumably praised her fathers valiant and told her that he would take her House sigil and words as his own. 

Aegon then gave Orys the Stormlands to rule and he married Argella. And together they started the house that has later produced our uncles and our father and then us.

But backing up just a little just for a small trip back our family tree. Our grandmother on our fathers side was Lady Cassana Baratheon. She was born Lady Cassana of house Eastermont. The family resides on the island of Eastermont and they live in the home called Greenstone. We will be visiting them as one of the last houses so we need to be polite since they are family and even more so because they and the house Swan is the two most powerful houses we have here in the Stormlands. So making sure to listen closely when we visit their houses,” 

He had been listening as she had told him the entire story but was slightly distracted by how Orys had reacted to seeing his future wife naked and in chains. Cloaking her like that. 

“Backtracking a lot. You are telling me that Orys was a good man? Because that cloak thing...” his head was spinning slightly as he processed that part before he could even focus on the rest of the story and the extra information's he had gotten. 

“Yes, that is what I am saying. Why do you ask?” she looked at him curious. 

“Something along those lines might have happened to me, sort of. The state of dress and warming her up with the cloak part. But like previously stated we got betrothed only a few days after and then married just a few days after that, so it wasn't anything to scandalous and I'm fairly sure only one man knew what we had done. The man who had spend a few years with her as well, Sandor Clegane, or the Hound. He is her, grumpy and swearing, father in spirit and has helped shape her to who she is today,” why did he tell all of this to someone who was practically speaking a stranger? Why did he trust her like this? Was it because of Marya? And did he trust her because of Davos? 

All he knew was that his head was slowly but surely starting to spin. 

“You mean the “Attack” wasn't as violent as implied?” was Freya smiling at his explanation, guessing what had happened. 

“I mean she did push me around a little and was fairly demanding. But that is all I'll say about that,” he said and she nodded and smiled knowingly. 

“But I'm happy that you are happy with your wife, even if she isn't here right now,” she looked happy for him and he smiled back at her. A weak smile.

“I miss her, but she needs this. She is amazing, clever, quick and demanding. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid of anything or anyone. I could go on and on, but we still have the matter of our grandmother's family and the Swan family to talk over. 

Is there anything I should know about those two families?” he asked and she grabbed a few letters from a bag.

“Yes, yes there is. So the eldest of the sons of Eastermont went to war, fighting for the Lannister's. They thought him lost but apparently he managed to escape with his life because he wasn't on duty when the fight started and no one noticed him as he walked out of the city, covered in burns. I know this because I meet him as he walked through the Kingswood and I got him to tell me this much. But because of this they married their second son to one of the daughters of house Swan and they were ready to lead his house, but now, well now they will just have to play second fiddle. But they are there.

I have yet to meet them but rumors are that she is a lovely girl and he is a hard working young man, so maybe we could, or you could help them find a purpose and a position later,” he heard her explanation and nodded at her suggestion. 

“I'm just learning about all of this but I hope I can help them. I will have to rely on you knowing who is who and what to do when we arrive, because I have no clue. I have never been involved in politics and always just avoided it till Bran was chosen as king. That or followed Arya, because even if she doesn't know to much about politics she still knows more than me, having grown up as a lady. But now I have to much to catch up on I guess...” he sighed. This was going to take a while for him to even get half of what was going on

“Hey, you can do this. You are a Baratheon and you just have to believe in yourself. Ours is the fury, dear brother,” she patted his back.

“Ours is the fury and winter is coming... wise words. But you seem to know more about this so please share. We are leaving tomorrow so I might as well get as confused as possible before we leave. So hit me,” he was ready to be as confused as humanly possible and she nodded before she started the huge explanation about the relationships between all the houses.

He did manage to pick up a little, but not much. Some houses seemed to be better than others or well, she seemed to prefer some over others. And then she brushed over the house of Selmy a little to fast for him not to notice it. He recognized one name and she stopped for a few seconds to let him catch up. House of Tarth. Brienne. And then she moved on.

If his head wasn't spinning before then it was after this but luckily Marya came and called them to dinner and after that he decided he needed to just look around again.

He was followed by Freya and they somehow ended up at the forges where he took a look at the sword someone had handed him.

He then remembered Arya telling him to stand sideways and he sighed. 

“I am not a Soldier or a Lord, but they gave me a Sword... I am a fighter, a Bastard, a Blacksmith and I use a Warhammer. But I guess that has to change now...” he slowly shook his head as he realized just how much he would have to change to be what they needed. 

He remembered a conversation as he looked at the forge he would probably never get to use.

'My mother was a lady and my sister..'  
'But you were a Lord's daughter and you lived in a castle and you (...) I should be calling you My Lady,'  
'Don't call me My Lady!'

He finally got it, or part of it. Got the part of it not being him. But he was stuck with it. Was stuck with the name and title and the lands that came with it.


	3. The Lord of Storm's End part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter that was the end of the Solo thing on twitter, so we are wrapping things up. The last leg of Gendry's journey and what he does with the Stormlands, and the small setup for the last chapter, that is already written, but need to be read and edited by me cause I always do this to avoid mistakes. 
> 
> But yup. Close to the end. Hope you enjoy.

The Lord of Storm's End part 3

Arriving at Stonehelm Freya made the introductions and then the three weeks of learning at the House of Swann started. He was being pushed slightly by the Lord there, since he was older and had more experience than him. Being tested and asked questions that he had never thought of before. This had made him realize once again that he had no idea what he was doing. He was the Lord Paramount of the region and he had no idea how to run it.

He did have the support from Freya and Devan who was more than happy to help and support him as he tried to navigate this, but all he wanted was to work.

He had passed the forges on a few walks and then one day he had just joined the men, who at first had looked at him and had avoided him. But it hadn't taken an hour before he heard all the rumours that was passed along by the servants. Apparently the Lady who was married to house Eastermont was with child.

Something to be celebrated, but because they were no longer the heirs their child could end up with nothing more than an ordinary house to his or her name. Realizing this a small plan started to form. It was nothing more than an idea, but the way the men talked about the young Lord and Lady made them seem like kind people.

He was then spotted by Lord Swann who was walking with Freya. The Lord had been looking for him and his sister knew where he would go when all his duties became to much. He spotted them as he was hammering away on a sword, teaching one of the apprentices what he learned in King's Landing. He was in his element as he worked and waited for them to approach before he stopped his work.

They had a brief talk before the Lord had let him get back to work after he had explained that while most Lord's hunted to clear their mind he simply made metal sing. This seemed to make sense to the Lord and he had then spend a few more hours hearing rumours and hammering away, clearing his mind while he worked.

When the three weeks was up Lord Swann had pledge his sword to the Baratheon house again and the relationship between their houses was stable as it had been when his father had ruled from Storm's End. 

Riding East in the Rainwood they reached Mistwood in just two days time. But the visit didn't last more than a few hours because Lord Rok decided to send one of his daughters to his chamber. 

He reacted the same way he had reacted in Felwood. Knocking on Freya's door and getting the men packed and being on the road in less than an hour. The Lord had tried to reason with him, but he was no going to let this behaviour slide. Not now, not ever. 

Luckily they managed to find an inn that could house most of the men. But they were a few rooms short and he had missed sleeping on the hard ground so he took the opportunity and ordered his men to take the rooms, while he found a spot outside. It had taken him a bit to make them agree, but after an intense staring contest and some choice words they had let him do what he wanted. Freya had joined him and started a small fire and then he asked her about Lord Selmy. He hadn't had the chance to ask her about him before so he took the shot and she told him everything.

How they had meet by chance outside Harvest Hall in the woods. How she had nearly shoot his nose off with an arrow and how it might have taken a few hours before they had figured each other out. But he treated her with respect and care and she seemed genuinely happy as she spoke of him. 

Hearing this made him smile. Another young Stag was finding some happiness. He was already thinking of an outline for a letter to Shireen that would explain Freya's story and her connection to the Lord of Harvest Hall. Knowing the young King and Queen he knew they would legitimize her in a heartbeat and that would probably make Freya's decision easier should Jonathan ever propose.

Talking about that brought memories up. Memories of his love. Memories of his wife. He missed her every single night. Missed her every single day, but seeing people in love made it worse and made the longing stronger. He hadn't had any words from her, not that he expected it, but he was worried and would at this point not be against rowing all the way to Braavos just to see her. But he had a few more stops on the list, so he was just going to do what his new title demanded of him. 

Letting Freya sleep he didn't get any rest himself. Thinking to much about Arya, worrying. 

The next day the small group got on a boat and sailed to the island of Eastermont. Once they arrived Freya took point. She had visited before and they knew her so she got them to Greenstone. 

The Lord and Lady was ready to greet them and so was their two sons and the second sons wife. He got at chance to speak with them and tell them, in short, how he had lived his life and about his wife. He also told them about the arrangement they had and the entire family seemed to accept it, even if the Lord found it rather odd.

He then got a chance to settle in and then he managed to find the forges. Knowing where he might be Freya found him and just stood with him.

“I need to talk to the second son and his wife...” he said and she nodded and disappeared for a few moments, coming back with the young couple. 

“You wished to see us Lord Baratheon,” the man said and he nodded as he turned to look at them. 

“Lord Rylen and Lady Argella, please just call me Gendry. Yes, I wanted to see you both, since I have heard a lot about the two of you when I was Stonehelm. It seem that the men and women there like you both very much and worry about the two of you,” he said and they both looked slightly confused. 

“You talked to the men? How and why?” Lord Rylen asked and Gendry nodded at the forges. 

“I disappeared into my old world and old work for a day. I am a blacksmith by trade so while hunting might be what most Lord's do for fun, I just make a dagger or a sword,” he explained and the Lady nodded. 

And then they slowly started to walk and talk. This went on for hours as he got to know the young Lord and Lady. The more they talked the better he liked the couple and the more clear his plan became. Spending three weeks there he learned more about his fathers mothers family and about the young couple. That and he somehow managed to relax a little more than he had done since Harvest Hall. 

The plan he had started to form slowly became more solid and by now he knew what he wanted to do, just not how to do it. He was to leave the Stormlands and the young couple, a mix of the two most powerful houses in the lands were to take his place in Storm's End. As they left Eastermont he thought about how to best do this. He would have to call in the Lords, he would have to ask Bran and he would have to ask the couple personally before he appointed them or maybe send Freya to tell them in person. 

It was with that in mind they arrived at Rain House and the house of Wylde. He had gotten good at pretending to be a Lord at this point and managed to not mess it up with the Lord and Lady as he thought about his plan. 

He send his first raven to Shireen and told her to send the reply to Evenfall Hall. Departing from Rain House after two weeks there was a sealed letter from Shireen that waited for him when they arrived at Evenfall Hall, on the isle of Tarth. 

He was fairly lucky, Lord Tarth was used to the unusual, with his daugther Brienne being made a knight at Winterfell before the long night. They spoke of this and then he started to talk to Freya about his plan. Easing into it as they spend three weeks there he managed to get her to see his vision before they left and sailed into Shipbreaker bay and back to Storm's End. 

The letter from Shireen had been positive. But he was ambushed as soon as he came back to the castle and was dragged from meeting to meeting. 

He could barely breath, but he kept sending ravens to the King and Queen, as well as to Lord Rylen and Lady Argella. Getting the approval from Bran after three weeks he found Freya, Devan and Marya.

“I need to send you all out, I trust no other in this matter. I have letters to the houses Eastermont and Swann that need to be delivered by hand. Devan you and your mother will be put on a small ship. You are to go to the Lord and Lady of Eastermont and deliver them a letter. That and then tell Rylen and Argella about the plan and present them with the following offer: I want them to rule the Stormlands, I want to give them Storm's End. 

Marya, you will sail on to Stonehelm and tell them about the offer made to their daugther, just to make sure they don't hear it from strangers. We will need their support to pressure the rest of the Lords. 

And you, Freya, you are to go to Lord Selmy and get his support. I'll send ravens out to the rest of the Lords and then we present them all with it when they come...” he said and scratched his head, sighing. 

The bags under his eyes was purple and he was about to pass out. He was not made for this, was not made for politics. He was pushed and pulled from all sides. Handling one lord at a time had been sort of okay, but now that he had to handle the running of the entirety of the Stormlands he was barely eating and sleeping. Reading, writing, planing and helping settling all sorts of conflicts, large and small. 

His three most trusted people had done what he had asked and they all left the following day. Knowing this could take a while he tried to get back to work the same day as they left but he had reached his breaking point and had a small, but very public meltdown. 

Getting up, he stood over the table his palms against the smooth wood. Everyone became quirt as he just stood and breathed for a minute that felt like a day. He then pushed the chair back and went to his room. Getting out his old shirt and an apron he heard people run after him. Lords and servants alike asked him what he was doing as he made his way to the forges with his sword.

Arriving there he turned around and stood up straight, looking more like his father in that moment than he had in his entire stay at Storm's End. 

“I'll be doing the thing I should have done weeks, no months ago. I'm going to make a warhammer,” he explained and then turned around, exhaling and then he started to walk around getting the things he needed while the people gathered just watched as he started to melt the sword that had been a gift from the weaponry at Storm's End.

Someone nearly stepped forward to stop him but then he had broken the sword with one hit from a hammer and they had all just backed away.

Working on the hammer and a few other weapons as the hammer was cooling he slowly but surely got back. He slept better, ate more, gained back the weight he had lost while he had been a lord and was just in a better mood. He was slowly getting stronger and then he had send the ravens out to the rest of the Lords. Ravens came back and plans were made while he was working in the forge. 

A raven was reserved from Rylen, the handwriting sloppy and faster than what he was used to reserving, but when he read what message the reason became clear: Lady Argella had given birth to a baby boy. A healthy baby boy. An heir.

The letter was short but his joy was easy to spot and this was just the news he needed. Knowing Arya he knew that the chance of them having heirs was slim to non so a Lord and Lady who already had an heir was to be preferred or so he thought. 

When he had been back from the long trip for a month the first of the houses started to arrive. Lord Brownhill had Dyanna with him, because she had begged him since the raven had arrived. He had been taking a break when they had arrived and had been pleasantly surprised when he had spotted her. She had seen him and had run straight for him as her father had shaken his head. Talking with the Lord as he worked, Dyanna chose to just stay with him after her father left to settle in.

Over the next few days the rest of the Lord's he trusted the most arrived. Lord Swan, Lord Tarth, Lord Selmy with Freya and The Lord of Eastermont and both his eldest and Lord Rylen, who had Argella and their little boy with her. 

With them all gathered he held a small council. He presented his idea or proposal to them all and after hearing his arguments and how he was going to handle everything only a few questions was left to be asked. One answer came in writing as he had a letter signed by both King Bran and Queen Shireen, supporting his choice. The other came when Lord Rylen and Lady Argella accepted the offer. Arrangements were then made as the last few houses arrived. 

Meanwhile he managed to finish his warhammer. It was larger than his last one, heavier as well. The hammer head had a wolf and stag head on either side, representing Arya and him. The eyes were of dragon glass and their bodies were twisted together to make the handle. It had taken him weeks to make but in the end it had become his best work up till this point. The details were all there and he was proud as he finally could present it to first Dyanna and later the rest of the gathered Lord's. 

Whispers of him with said hammer spread. It was now clear that he had taken more from his father than just his strength and hair, because he apparently looked just like his father had when he was young. 

The first meeting of the gathered Lords then started and then the whole process of pushing, pulling and convincing the others that this was what he wanted started. He explained in length why he wasn't suited for the position. His arguments ranged from him not being qualified, over his need to stay active and his dislike of politics, to him wanting a more simple life. He had a wife, he had a home, he had everything he truly needed and being a lord was not on that list of needs he had. He was no Lord and Arya was no Lady. They were fighters, warriors and skilled in other ways.

As the meetings went on a few of the houses needed convincing, but then Freya and Devan had stepped up and had reminded the three resisting Lords of their past deeds.

Lord Errol and his drinking that had made it nearly impossible to reach an agreement, and how his men had acted completely inappropriate in regards to Freya. This had made Lord Selmy look at Lord Errol in contempt and Gendry thought that the older Lord wouldn't be forgiven by the young man anytime soon.

At this point the Lord had pointed to Freya asking what the hell a commoner and woman was doing at the meeting and Gendry had gotten up to stand behind his sisters chair. 

“Freya is here because of her blood or rather the blood of her father, our father. She is my sister, my bastard sister and my most trusted advisor and she has helped me understand everything I have experienced. She explained the politics and helped me so I could do this right. Now, if anyone have a complain about her being here then feel free to just come straight to me, because she is my family and an attack on her is an attack on me,” he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He felt her sit straight under his touch and they made a united front against Lord Errol who then just sat down again. 

He stood there for a few more seconds and then found his seat again. 

Next one to protest was Lord Woods and when Lord Rok joined him Gendry reminded them both that they had send their innocent daughters to his chamber with the intend of making him cheat on his wife. He then mentioned Lord Brownhill and how he had nearly left Bronzegate, but had chosen to stay because of Dyanna and the fact that the Lord had respected his wishes and boundaries. 

With that out of the way the week continued with meeting after meeting. Details were mapped out. The young couple were to take a new name, make their own house, but keep a Stag in a new sigil. The house words would remain the same, as a reminder of where they started with the ancestors and how the house had changed hands from Storm Kings to Baratheon's and now to a new family. 

In the final days he spend most of his extra time in the forges or with the kids. The young Stannis Seaworth had taken a liking to Dyanna who was just a year younger than him and their parents had noticed this. Gendry had smiled at the words Marya and the Lord had exchanged in regard to maybe one day unite the smaller house with the larger one, but they had both taken Gendry's words about happiness to heart. So their plan became the following: Stannis was to become a ward and live with Lord Brownhill, giving the kids time to get to know one another and to encourage their friendship to grow and maybe one day turn into something more. 

Hearing small chatter like this made the long days of meetings less hard and then he even got to meet the little baby boy who never left his mother Argella's side. Seeing such a young child up close for the first time made him smile. He never expected to have one of his own, but that didn't mean he couldn't look at the boy in wonder.

At the end of the last meeting it had all been decided. A name had been picked for the house that was to follow house Durrandon and house Baratheon: Ewann. The Lady Argella Ewann had personally drawn their new sigil and had sewn the first banner with some ladies as the men had held meetings. That last day she presented it and presented the new Heir of Storm's End. The young Lord Gendry Ewann. 

He was confused for a half a second and then smiled as he realized they had named their first son after him.

That night a feast was held, celebrating as they said goodbye to the old Lord and house and welcomed the new rulers of Storm's End. Gendry had the document, signed and sealed by all the houses gathered that he would ride north with the following day to hand to the King and Queen. The new Lord would travel the same road once he was set up with his family and then bend the knee as traditions demanded. 

The feast was great, but he had retired early and knew a few others would follow his example since they were leaving the next morning.

The feast was still going as he meet up with the Lord and Lady of Storm's End. He said his goodbye and told them to keep in touch. He wanted to know how they were both doing and what their son was up to. 

Looking around he spotted Freya, partially hidden as she said goodbye to the tall Lord Jonathan Selmy. Hearing their whispers and then seeing her step away from the encounter with flushed cheeks had made him smile. 

Then Lord Brownhill came with his men and his horses. Dyanna was following her father and then ran to Gendry, who had promised her to stay a week at Bronzegate. She was seated in front of him on his horse as they made their way to her home and he had watched as the little girl had fallen asleep, resting her small frame against his. 

In the week he spend at Bronzegate with Freya and the Brownhill family he made a few daggers for the girls in the family and Freya instructed them in how to handle the small blade and how to use them to defend themselves. The Lord had first been against it, but once Freya and Gendry had reminded him that the girls was defenceless against any and all men he had agreed to let them do this.

After the week was over and hugs exchanged the former bastard and the bastard rode on to the capital. Arriving there nine months after he had originally left they went to talk to the King and Queen. Freya was received with nothing but love from Shireen and a letter already signed by Bran and her. 

“You are a true Baratheon. But you shall only receive this if you agree to stay here a week,” Shireen had said and Freya had agreed in a heartbeat. Gendry had then talked with Bran for a short while, as the girls got to know each other and then he waited.

Freya stayed a fortnight before she had left to see Lord Selmy. After her departure only one week went by before Lord Ewann came and he did what he had to do. He bend the knee. He only stayed for a week, telling everyone about his tiny miracle of a boy, being more proud of that than his new title. 

After that week was over Gendry simply spend his time either with Shireen or at the forges. He made weapons day and night to distract himself and then every morning and evening he would go for a walk. Down to the docks to look for any new ships. 

His mood didn't go unnoticed by Shireen who always tried to cheer him up. But the year was finally coming to a close and he just missed his wife more than ever. He missed feeling her just being in the same room as him. That small spark that was there even if they were doing their own thing. He missed her voice, missed her small comments, missed her humour, her laughter, her smile. Her touch and the feeling of her in his arms. But more than anything he missed knowing she was safe.

It had been a year by then and as the sun was setting he cleaned up his hands and rolled his shoulders, loosening his tired muscles. Slowly walking down to the docks he sighed as he looked out over the ships, getting closer and closer to the exact spot where they said goodbye. 

Looking up he had to take a second look.

In the spot, the exact spot stood a woman. Her dark hair that was gathered into a bun, a dark cloak that had an open slid in the side, revealing the slender blade of needle he knew so well. His brain didn't even register that he had started to move before he had her in his arms.

Arya.

Tears of happiness started to run down his cheeks as he looked her over, searching for new scars or other signs that she had been in danger. He then took a deep breath.

“Never again, okay. A few weeks or a month or two I can handle, but a year is to long,” he whispered before he kissed her forehead. He had done okay, but she was a part of him and with her gone he was empty. He had felt broken and lost. But she was here, right here, in his arms. 

Resting his forehead against hers he smiled to her and slowly released her from the hug, before he pulled back and wrapped his arm around her, slowly leading her to the Red Keep and to his or now their room. Walking slowly as he just soaked in the fact that she was really home he couldn't stop smiling. Leading her up some stairs he knew he probably should have announced that she was there to Bran but he was being selfish. He needed his wife and so he opened the door to the room that was bathed in the last sunlight of the day. Once inside he closed the door behind them and locked it for privacy purpose.


	4. The Lord of Storm's End part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, fluff and what I feel is a good end to this story that is ongoing cause Twitter RP is a thing and I write Gendry, yes this Gendry on twitter. 
> 
> Also, this chapter includes a young child, Hot Pie, Shireen, Bran and Arya putting some lord in his place, cause she is badass. 
> 
> Look at end notes for the final afterthoughts on this short story.

Waking up he felt the sunlight hit his face and then he noticed the weight on his chest. Having lived alone for most of his life and only spending a few short months with Arya as his wife it took him a few short seconds to realize what was going on.

But once he remembered the last few hours he just wrapped his arms tighter around his wife and looked at her.

She had gained a few new scars since the burning of King's Landing, but it wasn't anything super serious. To be quite honest he was just happy that she was home again. Happy to have her within reach and happy that nothing much seemed to have changed between them.

They stayed in their room for the next day, talking and enjoying finally being back together. She had a plan, she wanted to ride north, taking a longer route and then go back home to Winterfell and become her sisters Queens Guard. He agreed to the plan, explaining that he just needed a forge and that the one at Winterfell would do just fine. She asked him about his lands and he told her a brief summary of what he had been doing, mentioning only the most important people. Freya, the Seaworth family, Dyanna and the new lord and lady of Storm's End. After that they talked more in details of the plans of riding north. 

And then, on their second day they emerged from their chambers, she was dressed in a simple pair of pants and one of his light shirts, while he was dressed in a matching outfit. Her needle and dagger was at her side and they walked hand in hand to the King and Queen.

Arriving no formalities was kept as Shireen smiled and hugged Gendry, while Arya nearly attacked her brother. Pod and Brienne both just stood back, smiling, while the rest of the court looked at the four young adults, to scared to interrupt.

Gendry heard Bran tease Arya by asking her why she hadn't come to see him earlier and then Arya had looked at him before returning to Bran, explaining that she had better things to do. 

“Better things to do than go greet your king? Outrageous!” an official who didn't know is place said, out loud, and Arya looked at him as the attention of the entire court turned to this unfortunate soul.

“You don't know who I am, correct?” she asked and he nodded, standing tall, still thinking he was right and she was wrong. Gendry had shifted over behind Arya as she was getting ready to verbally bitch slap he man and he could tell that Tyrion, who was standing to the side was getting exited. 

“I am Arya Stark Baratheon. I am the Hero of Winterfell and sister to the King of the Six Kingdoms and the Queen of the North. When I say I had Better things to do, I am telling the Truth. I have been gone for an Entire Year, so excuse me for taking time to talk to My Husband, who looked like he was about to Cry when I saw him at the docks,” she said and the other man then looked at them as they stood together. A short, yet strong looking, young woman with both a sword and a dagger, backed by a mountain of a man, who might not have any weapons, but he still looked like he could rip a man into pieces with his bare hands. 

The official had turned pale by then and Arya had turned her attention back to Shireen while Gendry had exchanged a look with Bran.

“You married a wild one,” the King noted and Gendry smiled.

“And you married a gentle one,” he responded. 

And so the rest of the day was spend with family, before maps was send to their room and plans were made. They would go north along the Kings Road and then they found the Inn where Hot Pie was working on the map. 

Staying in Kings landing one more night they left in the early hours the next day, travelling fast, but not because they had somewhere they needed to be. They talked more as they road and she told him tales of Braavos, while he got to tell her more about his new sister Freya and the lords of Stormlands. 

She wasn't shocked by the fact that two lords had tried to make him sleep with their daughters. She had smiled as he had told her how he had handled it and had then said that his father would have hated how righteous his son was. Gendry said that was all the praise he needed and that made them both laugh as they approached the inn.

Once inside they meet up with Hot Pie and all three talked at lengths of what had happened. The baker was surprised that his friends had married, yet not really surprised that they had both been in all of the last battles.

That night Gendry had asked Arya about bringing the other man along. Hot Pie was a great baker and Winterfell needed a good cook who they could trust. She agreed and the next morning they talked to the innkeeper who agreed to let Hot Pie leave if he wanted to do so.

Asking Hot Pie he managed to call Winterfell for Winterhell again, but then agreed and brought out some fresh baked goods for the trip, including wolf bread and honey butter. He road an old but reliable horse who was packed with food enough to feed them all the way to the wall. 

Riding on they spoke of the battles and impressed their new companion with tales of Witches, Giants and Dragons. 

Arriving at Winterfell, Arya arranged for a room for their friend before they all went to Sansa and greeted her. Arya became a Queens Guard, the head of the guard to be exact and Gendry stepped in as their weapons expert. Hot Pie got the title: master of bread and pies, and then they all went to look around at what had been done since the war had ended. 

Arya walked an entire round with them before they dropped Hot Pie off in the kitchens and then they went to the Crypt. Standing in front of her father he looked at stone replica and pointed out that it didn't look like him and that nearly made Arya laugh. 

“Even you can tell and you only meet him once,” she sighed and he nodded, as he looked at the rest of the Stark's. 

He felt her lean against him, before she took his hand and they walked up and got to work. 

It hadn't been more than a week since they had arrived before the final piece of their puzzle arrived. He was in the courtyard when a man came in, dragging a young child with him. Her dark brown hair was a mess and there was blood on her dress. Tears stained her cheeks and she was resisting ever last step of the way. 

He didn't notice he had gotten up before he was walking to her. He send the man a look and he had released the child's hand. Kneeling down in front of the girl he caught her attention and offered her a smile. It still took him a few moments to make her warm up to him but he had then offered her that she could stay with him at Winterfell till she could find a permanent new home.

She hadn't really believed him at first, but after a solid ten minutes the girl broke and rushed over, crying into his shoulder, telling him about how her father had fraught in the war and how her mother had been killed by a few rebels earlier the same day.

He had picked her up, and just tried to calm her down, telling her that she was safe and that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. After she was calmed down he took her inside and got one of the girls who worked there to help him get her washed and her hair fixed. An old dress of Arya's was found and she was dressed.

Meeting Arya in the great hall she pulled him aside once the girl had received a plate and some food. She had asked him what he had gotten himself into and then they were interrupted by the girl. She explained that she was Arden and that she was seven, telling Arya that Gendry just wanted to help her and then the kid did the one thing that could make Arya get on her side. 

She asked about Needle. 

That changed everything and Arya's eyes lid up as she told the quick story of her first weapon, as she held it out to Arden. The girl got to hold the blade and smiled so muck that Arya had looked at him and he had smiled back at her.

Next day Arden's name was changed to Arden Stark Baratheon and thus began the life of the Stark Baratheon family. 

The entire family would break fast together, Arya, Arden, Sansa, a few of her advisors and him and then they would go work. Arya with Sansa and Arden with him. 

He taught their daughter how to be responsible by giving her a pony that she needed to take care of. He taught her how to ride, taught her how read, write and eat right. She expressed interest in making daggers and so he taught her that as well, while they learned how to use bow and arrow together. 

Fencing or water dance was a mother and daughter activity and Arden was quickly becoming more like Arya. Another strong woman had joined the family.

But that didn't change the fact that the kid still had nightmares and was spending quite a few nights in her parents bed. Falling asleep either between them or next to her mother they would usually just all sleep together as a family. 

And that was how the Stark Baratheon days went, filled with work and learning and new adventures. 

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically how fare I have come with this man on twitter, where this is from. He is enjoying his life with his wife and kid. Protecting them as best as he can and having fun with Arden. 
> 
> Yes, Gendry is basically the primary caretaker and for them it just works. Also someone once said that he had a “Wife to warm his bed” and he corrected them saying Arya had a “Husband to warm her bed”.
> 
> Make no mistake, Gendry is a Man and he is strong, but he is Arya's Partner and they are Equals. If one of them move, they both move. But if one wants to go left and the other one right, then they will talk it out and fin a solution. He does not hold more power than her and she does not hold more power than him. 
> 
> But yup. I hoped you enjoyed this, it was fun to look through and fix up again after I finished it a few months ago so yeah.


End file.
